


Henkan

by kouris (darkponds)



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: AU, Alternate Timeline, M/M, Minor Character Death, cuteness and piggies, ganlink
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-18
Updated: 2017-01-18
Packaged: 2018-09-18 10:42:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9380987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkponds/pseuds/kouris
Summary: once upon a time link wasn't the hero who saved hyrule, he was a farm boy with an adorable pet pig; and ganondorf wasn't the evil bearer of the triforce of power, he was a prince with some very bad luck.this idea belongs toKaratecake(info in notes.)





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Karatecake](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karatecake/gifts).



> this idea originally belongs to user [Karatecake](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Karatecake/pseuds/Karatecake); _Weird AU where Link got a pet pig from his mom or someone and loved it even after his family was murdred by gerudo theives looking for their young leader..._

Everyone has a specific purpose in life.  Everyone has a duty that they must fulfill in order to keep the wheels of the world turning. Bakers bake, Merchants sell, seamstresses sew, and farmers... farm. Most people are born into these things with the notion that it's the right thing to do to carry on your family's work.

And even though you want to be a soldier or crafter or a traveler, sometimes you have your responsibilities all set out for you. Link knows this well at the tender age of six.

Mornings are busy. Him and his father wake up early and tend to the field and tend to the cows. They prepare all season for the harvest to take their goods into town and sell for a living. It puts food on the table and clothes on their back. Sometimes they would even make a little extra than expected. The milk is what gets them by all year. Link learns how to milk the cows as early as he can walk and talk.

He knows that there's nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to being a farmer, but that doesn't mean he's always excited to wake up and do the day’s work. Sometimes he wants to be like other children. Sometimes he wishes his overprotective mother would consider sending him to school. Sometimes he wishes his father would see that maybe Link doesn't want to be a farmer. Not forever anyhow.

As young as he is, Link knows what he wants. He wants to see the world. He wants to meet people and see things besides the same grass and cows and chickens every morning. Things are the same for a very long time. Things are normal and comfortable and everyday of their lives is damn near the same.

 

* * *

 

The  war comes. The conflict with the desert tribes in the east of the land seem to stretch on forever. They started before Link was even born. Or perhaps right around the time he was born. It’s difficult for his parents to remember exactly when. They tried their best to shelter him from it. They barely ever left the ranch. Every so often Link would go on errands with his father and he would stare at all of the townspeople like he’d never seen another human being before. He would watch the soldiers march by wondering why they had to wear so much armor. He knew that meant that there was someone who wanted to hurt them if they had to wear such heavy protection. The thought was unsettling.

The battle sweeps their way one day. The only choice they have is to flee to the mountains until blades settle to the gravel and the blood sinks past the dirt.

It’s the first climb up the cliff sides that shakes Links very understanding of everything that he knows. Even as they take refuge in the shelter of the safe house that their family has had for generations, Link still has a mischievous way of sneaking out at night to look over the peaks and down onto the grassy fields. He meant no harm; he only wanted to gaze upon the object of his homesickness.

He sees the entirety of the imperial army and for a moment, before he can _really_ look, he is completely entranced by it. And then when his bright blue eyes catch their first glimpse of bloodshed, he expects to want to turn away. But he just watches as countless lose their lives to the gleaming blades of war. He could not tear his eyes away for a single second despite the shake in his legs and the irregular beating of his heart. He’d only lived eight summers by this time.

He decides that night, that he would never raise a weapon to another. He vowed to himself that he would never hurt anyone without a justified reason. His heart couldn’t take it, causing someone else pain. He sat in his cot, bewildered that so many men could willingly take up arms to take the lives of so many. Without even realizing it, he had developed a certain disdain for mankind on that day.

It was not hatred so strong as to openly verbalize his distaste, but it was enough to resurface within his own mind every now and then. The thoughts were painful.

His mother and father have always been overly attentive and protective of him. He is after all their only son. They are witness to his jaded frame of thought that their son possesses. They want him happy. They don’t want him to carry a worried heart in his chest. They would protect him from the entire world if they could.

Links father tries to remember times when similar things plagued him in his younger days. He always felt comforted by the animals of the ranch. He could talk to them and they would never judge him for what he had to say. He especially enjoyed the pig pen.

An idea struck him. Maybe his son just needed a friend. Not now, but soon.

By the time Link is nine, they are finally home.

 

* * *

 

His mother never sends him to school. She’s far too paranoid for that. The war isn’t over but the fighting has stilled for a while. There are still raids on the outskirts of the main city and talk of another battle over the horizon, but they are safe enough for now. But apparently it’s still not safe enough to go to school. They read together at night. She has him write stories of all the places he’d like to go and the things he’s like to see one day. Those are his favorite things to write. She makes him brush up on the history of the land once in a while. He’s not fond of it.

Most of the time he’s bored. And he’s bored because he’s lonely. He’s sure that nothing will ever change. Nothing will change for the better anyhow. He’s sure that nothing good will happen ever; he thinks the war will never end and he thinks he’ll never meet another living breathing _person_ (not a cow, not a chicken) that wants to be his friend.

 

* * *

 

Link is Ten years old. It’s his birthday today but for some reason he doesn’t really want to get out of bed.  He hears sounds from behind his bedroom door. He hears whispering between his mother and father from the other side. He also could swear he heard small little grunts. He doesn’t want to get up yet but it doesn’t sound like there’s much of a choice.

Sunlight streams through his window making the dust in the air visible and luminous. And he realizes he’s never notices it before. It feels like maybe it’s trying to tell him that today is going to be different. Something will change today.

He gets up and strides to the door. He opens it swiftly, interrupting their chatter. They both look like they’ve been caught. He hears the small grunt again and directs his attention down to where it came from.

His father is holding in his arms like a little baby, a tiny, furry, auburn piglet.

No one says anything for a moment. Link just stares at the creature. His mouth quirks up in a small smile because a baby anything can make him smile. He can’t help it. His father holds up the piglet for link to take by its armpits. The little guy snorts _loud_.

Link takes him and just _stares,_ confused as he’s ever been.

“For you, son.” His father says. The piglet is making little oinking sounds. But they sound different than another pigs oinks. Almost like he’s trying to talk. It makes Link laugh softly.

“Like- Like a _pet?”_ He questions his father, “You’re giving me a pet?”

His mother nods her head with a pleased smile.

“What will you name him, love?” She asks Link.

Link looks at his tiny form in his hands. His eyelashes are long and his eyes are big and bright like he knows something no one else does. He’s still making those little noises. It almost sounds like he’s trying to say words. Something that starts with a G but it’s still an oink.

Link smiles big.

“Goink.”


End file.
